Raising of cooperative butt cutters in response to the torque load on butt cutters



1. BECKER 2,788,629 RAISING OF COOPERATIVE BUTT CUTTERS IN RESPONSE April 16, 1957 A.

TO THE TORQUE LOAD ON BUTT CUTTERS 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 5, 1956 April 16, 1957 A. I. BECKER 2,788,629

' RAISING OF COOPERATIVE BUTT CUTTERS IN RESPONSE TO THE TORQUE LOAD ON BUTT CUTTERS Filed April 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 53 I 71 I 6'7 5 4 I m Y m 52 E: 2 I i fi 7w 20 21 J9 INVENTOR.

%51'a77z JlBeeer BY MC} Abram I. Becker, Athens, EL, assignor to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New .iersey Application April 5, 1956, Serial No. 576,309

7 Claims. (Cl. 56-157) This invention relates to a new and improved device for raising a pair of cooperative butt cutters in response to torque load.

The raising of cooperative angers and butt cutters in response to the torque load imposed on or by the rotation of the butt cutters and angers is shown in copending application to Pool et al., Serial No. 254,604, filed Novemher 2, 1951 now Patent No. 2,748,552. More particularly the automatic means for effecting a raising and/ or lowering of cooperative auger mechanisms is in response to the torque load imposed on these angers. The device is associated with a cane harvester. The efficient harvesting of cane is unique in that it requires a cutting of the cane stalks just below the surface of the ground and above the roots thereof. This is true because the major content of sugar in the stall; is located in the butt ends closely adjacent the roots of the growing cane.

The present invention relates to an improvement over the prior copending application to Pool et al., Serial No. 254,604, entitled Rotary Cutting Assembly with Torque Control for Driving and Positioning Cutting Assembly.

An important object of this invention is to provide rotatable drive means for ground engaging cooperative disc cutters and angers and means associated with said drive means for effecting an automatic raising of said cooperative cutting assemblies when the resistance to retation thereof becomes excessive.

Another important object of this invention is the pro vision of winch means to efiect a raising of stalk butt cutters when the resistance to rotation of the butt cutters exceeds some predetermined minimum.

Still another important object of this invention is to supply an epicyclic drive mechanism for cooperative stalk butt cutters and simultaneously to utilize the resistance to rotation of the butt cutters as a reactance means for accomplishing an automatic raising of the butt cutters to relieve the load imposed thereon.

Another and still further important object of this invention is to equip a stalk harvesting mechanism comprising a pair of cooperative butt cutters with a planetary driving means in which the sun gear is the input power member, the ring gear is the means for rotatably driving the cooperative butt cutters, and the planet carrier has a winch joined thereto and supported through the medium of a cable to a stationary support whereupon the torque response of the butt cutters is transmitted to the planet carrier and winch to cause the winch to wind up. on the supported cable and to thereupon lift the butt cutters when the resistance to their rotation becomes greater than the weight of the butt cutters.

A still further important object of this invention is to provide a cable support in the nature of a spring motor wherein the cable will automatically remain taut regardless of the vertical positioning of the butt cutters of this harvesting machine.

Other and further important objects and advantages will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

tates Patent ice In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a harvesting machine incorporating the principles of this .nventio-n;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of of Figure 2.

As shown in the drawings, the reference numeral 10 indicates generally a frame supporting structure having dirigible wheels 11 at the forward end and relatively large traction wheels 12 at a position spaced rearwardly therefrom. The general arrangement of the frame and wheel supporting members is shown in a previous Pool et al. Patent 2,716,322 having the same assignee of record as the present application. It should be understood that the entire cane harvester is not shown in the present application drawings. Only those parts relative to the present invention have been shown in detail.

The front steerable wheels 11 are mounted on a vertically disposed frame member 13 having wheel supporting fork members 14 to directly receive the wheels 11. The steering of the wheels is accomplished by a hand steering wheel 15 disposed at the top of the frame member 13 and closely adjacent an operators seat 16 which is mounted on a station or platform 17 which, in turn, is carried on the frame supporting structure it An engine iii is mounted on the frame structure Hi just forwardly of the large traction wheels 12 to impart rotational drive to the various operating elements of this harvester. The detailed drive from the engine to the various elements will not be shown herein inasmuch as they form no direct part of the present invention.

A pair of cooperative butt cutters 19 and 20 are disposed rearwardly of the dirigible wheels If and forwardly of the large traction wheels 12 and are for the purpose of cutting standing stalks closely adjacent their butt ends. These butt cutters 19 and 26 are relatively large diameter discs having circumferential knife edges as shown atZl and 22. As further shown in Figure 2, the cutting discs 19 and Zll slightly overlap at their inner adjoining edges to enable stalks cut thereby to be raised upwardly onto their joint surfaces whereafter the stalks are carried upwardly, butt ends first, by spiral auger flights 23 and 24, respectively. These auger screw flights 23 and 24 are mounted on relatively large diameter cores 25 and 26 extending upwardly from the discs 19 and 20, respectively. The adjoining sides of the inter-engaging screw flights 23 and 24 of the vertically disposed angers create an elevating means for the butt ends of the stalks between auger cores 25 and 26 and above the cutting discs 19 and 29.

An intermediate frame member 27 of the main frame structure 10 has its forward end mounted on the front frame 13 and carried at its rear end by the large traction wheel 12. A bracket-like structure 28 extends downwardly from the intermediate frame 27 of the frame supporting structure 10. The bracket structure 28 comprises a pair of V-shaped arms 29 and 3t) which. are riveted as shown at 31 and 32 to the frame member 27. A bottom member 33 joins the lower apex ends of the frame mem bers 29 and 3b and jointly form a support for a shaft 34.

A belt type conveyor 36 is mounted on spaced apart rollers 37 and 37a located forwardly and rearwardly respectively at the top of the terminal endings of the auger screw flights 23 and 24. A forward roller member 37 is mounted transversely on the machine and disposed slight- 1y forwardly of the cooperative butt cutting angers so that the stalks moving in through the machine are bent downwardly and forwardly upon forward motion of the machine through a field of standing grain thereupon provid- 3 ing for the natural feeding of the butt ends into the cooperative auger conveyors and a raising of the stalks by their butt ends to an extent where the stalks are in a substantially horizontally level position when they reach the upper ends of the screw flights 23 and 24. The stalk butt ends upon reaching the tops of the augers will be engaged by the belt type conveyor 36 which has its lower flight 36a moving in a rearwardly direction indicated by the arrow 38. This direction of movement, as viewed in Figure 1, is from front to rear of the machine on the lower surface of the conveyor 36 whereby the stalks are propelled rearwardly of the machine for delivery into a junc- The ' has mounted thereon the roller 37a. An arm 47 is mounted on the shaft 46 and carries at its rearward end the shaft 42 so that the roller 41 and its carrying arm 47 will be movable in an arcuate path about the shaft 46 as a center. The drive chain 44 extending from the shaft 46 to the shaft 42 remains a constant length inasmuch as the centers remain separated an equal distance. It will thus be apparent that as the stalks are harvested they will be raised to a horizontal position and from there delivered rearwardly by the belt conveyor 36 through the opposing feed rolls 40 and 41. Subsequent to the stalks passing through the feed rolls they may be either further treated, such as cut in short lengths, or delivered to trailing wagons or the like for final delivery to the sugar cane mills.

Each of the cooperative augers is provided with an upwardly extending shaft 48 and 49. The shafts 48 and 49 are shielded by sleeve members 50 and 51. The sleeves t and 51 are journaled as shown at 52 on an arcuately swingable members 52a which is pivoted at its rearward end at 52b on a bracket 52c depending from the frame supporting structure It), all as shown in Figure 1.

The member 52:: is hingedly supported at its forward end by an hydraulic cylinder 85 and piston 86 as shown at 87 in Figure l. The upper end of the cylinder and piston is hingedly attached at 88 to an inclined frame member 80. Thus the extension or retraction of the piston 86 with respect to the cylinder 85 directly varies the height of the cutting discs 19 and 20..

A link member 89 is hingedly mounted at 90 on the member 52a and depends downwardly to carry the belt conveyor 36. A frame member 91 journally carries the front roller 37 of the belt conveyor and is itself supported at 92 by the lower end of the link 89. Another frame arm 93 is attached to the junction 92 and extends rearwardly to the shaft 46 for the support thereof. It will be recalled the shaft 46 carries the rear roller 37a of the belt conveyor.

Another link 94 in the form of an hydraulic cylinder 95 and piston 96 is disposed in an angular position between the journal support 52 of the vertical auger shafts at 97 and a forward portion of the frame member 27 at 98. Extension or contraction of the link 94 defines the limits of fore and aft movement of the cooperative augers.

The upper ends of the shafts 48 and 49 each have keyed thereto a bevel gear 53 and 54, respectively. Rotational drive of the cooperative disc cutters 19 and 20 is accomplished by imparting drive to the bevel gears 53 and 54.

The bevel gears 53 and 54 which are disposed generally horizontally are in meshing engagement with vertically disposed bevel gears 55 and 56, respectively. Drive to the bevel gears 55 and 56 is accomplished through the medium of gearing and including transversely disposed shafts 57 and 58. A spaced-apart drive shaft 59 is mounted on a bracket 60 which, in turn, is carried on the frame supporting structure 10, as shown in Figure l. The shaft ments of the machine by reason of the brush-type con- 59 has mounted thereon a V-pulley 61 which carries a V- belt 62 for imparting rotational drive to pulleys 63 and 64, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The plural V-pulleys 3 and 64 are keyed to the shafts 57 and 58, respectively, and thus are the means for receiving the drive for the opposing butt cutters 19 and 20 and their integral angers 23 and 24.

The gearing which as previously stated carries the drive from the V-pulleys 63 and 64 to the bevel gears 55 and 56 is in the form of an epicyclic mechanism or planetary gearing wherein there is an outer ring gear 65 and 66 for each side of the mechanism. In other words, there is a planetary gearing for the driving of each butt cutter and its associated vertically disposed auger. The respective ring gears 65 and 66 are fixedly attached to the vertically disposed bevel drive gears 55 and 56 whereby when the outer ring gears 65 and 66 of the planetary gearings are rotationally driven there will be drive imparted to the butt cutters. Planet gears 67 and 63 are disposed within the ring gears 65 and 66, respectively, and are in engagement with the internal annular gear teeth on the ring member 66 and on their opposite sides are in engagement with a centrally disposed sun gear 69 and 76 for the respective planetary gearings. The planets 67 are supported by a carrier member 71 and similarly the planets 68 in the other planetary gearing are supported by a carrier 72. A winch member 73 is journaled over the inner terminal endings of the shafts 57 and 58. Each of the planet carriers 71 and 72 is fastened to the outside of the common winch 73 and it should be noted that this is the only interconnection between the planetary gears. Also, it should be understood that the reactance given the planet carriers 71 and 72 for each of the planetary gearings is identical one to the other so that the speed of rotation of the respective ring gears 65 and 66 is identical one to the other whereby rotation is imparted uniformly to the cooperative butt cutters 19 and 20.

A cable 74 has its lower end fastened to the winch 73 and at its upper end is fastened at 75, as shown in Figure 2, to a drum or sleeve-like member 76. The drum 76 is equipped with a spring motor 77 to normally urge rotation of the drum about a shaft 78 upon which the spring motor and sleeve are mounted. The mounting of the shaft 78 is best shown in Figures 1 and 3 wherein upwardly and forwardly inclined frame members in the form of tubular members are shown at 79 and 80 and by means of brackets 81 and 82 the shaft 78 is held in fixed position with respect thereto. It will thus be obvious that there is always a normal tendency to wind the cable 74 up onto the drum 76, in which case the butt cutters 19 and 20 are never loosely hanging but are normally urged upwardly.

The spaced-apart planetary transmissions are enclosed within housings 83 and 84 surrounding the shafts 57 and 58. For smooth operation of the gearing mechanisms oil is placed within the housings 83 and 84 so that the gears operate within the lubricant and run substantially noiseless while well-lubricated.

As stated in the objects above, it is the function of the present harvesting machine to cut the standing cane stalks at, or just beneath, the surface of the ground and above the roots from which the cane stalks grow. The weight of the augers and the butt cutters tend to pull downwardly, by gravity, and cut the stalks at their lowermost positions. The rotation of the butt cutters 19 and 20 is continuous throughout the entire operation so that the stalks are cleanly severed with the butt ends being carried by the interrelated screw flights 23 and 24 and thereupon elevated for delivery through the other eleveyor 36 and the cooperative feeding rolls 40 and 41. The epicyclic gearings are hung by the cable 74 which is attached to the winch 73 and thus there is, in effect, a holding against free rotation of the planet gear carriers.

of the side-by-side planetary gearings and thus a simultaneous driving of both of the outer ring gears 65 and 66 to impart continuous rotation to the butt cutters and their integral angers. The degree of holding of the winch 73 against rotation is determined by the weight of the butt cutters and their respective augers and thus there is a limit to the reactance occasioned by the winch 73 for the respective planet carriers 71 and 72. When the resistance to rotation of the butt cutters 19 and 20, either in the cutting of stalks or the striking of foreign objects such as stones or the like or the digging into the ground, exceeds a predetermined minimum for holding the winch stationary, the winch will be rotated by the planet carriers and the ring gears will halt while the winch winds up on the cable 74 to relieve the load on the butt cutters 19 and 20. Immediately upon the resistance to rotation of the butt cutters ceasing the winch 73 will again remain stationary or finally drop, whereupon drive to the ring gears is resumed and also to the butt cutters. It is apparent that herein is provided an automatic raising of the butt cutters of a stalk harvester in response to the torque load imposed on these butt cutters. By reason of the spring motor 77 for the drum 76 the upper end of the cable 74 is always pulled upwardly and thus the cable 74 remains taut at all times. However, when the winch 73 starts climbing the cable 74 the cable will be extended downwardly, as shown in Figure 3, thereby giving adequate support to the harvesting butt cutters. Another purpose of the spring motor is to facilitate a gradual lowering of the butt cutters after resistance to rotation thereof has been removed. Thus there are no sudden drops of the butt cutters.

Numerous details of construction may be varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles disclosed herein and I, therefore, do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A butt cutter for cutting stalks close to the ground, comprising a substantially vertically disposed shaft having cutting means adjacent its lower end, an epicyclic gearing journally mounted on the upper end of said vertically disposed shaft, power input means to said epicyclic gearing, means interposed between said shaft and said epicyclic gearing to effect rotation of said shaft, generally constant reactance means applied to said epicyclic gearing whereby when resistance to rotation of said shaft exceeds the generally constant reactance the rotation of the shaft halts and the power input is dissipated through the reactance.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the generally constant reactance includes a supporting structure, a cable suspended from said supporting structure, and a winch joined to said epicyclic gearing and having the cable attached thereto, and the vertically disposed shaft and associated cutting means and epicyclic gearing suspended by said cable from said supporting structure and whereby when the rotation of the shaft slows or stops the winch winds up on the cable carrying with it all of the suspended elements.

3. A butt cutter for cutting stalks close to the ground comprising a substantially vertically disposed shaft having cutting means adjacent its lower end, said shaft having a bevel gear thereon, a planetary gearing including a power driven sun gear, planet gears, a planet gear carrier, a ring gear, a second bevel gear fastened to and rotated with said ring gear, said second bevel gear in meshing engagement with said shaft bevel gear for driving said shaft, a winch joined to said planet gear carrier for joint rotation, a stationary support, and cable means joining said winch with said stationary support whereby when resistance to rotation of the cutting means becomes excessive and greater than the efiective weight thereof, the planet carrier and winch are caused to rotate thus lifting the cutting means until resistance to rotation is lessened.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 in which said stationary support includes a drum, a spring motor normally urging rotation of said drum, and the upper end of said cable means joined to said drum whereby the spring motor maintains the cable means taut.

5. A butt cutter for cutting stalks close to the ground comprising a pair of side-by-side substantially vertically disposed shafts having cooperative cutting discs at the lower ends thereof, said shafts each having a housing at and around its upper end, a horizontally disposed bevel gear keyed to the upper end of each shaft within its respective housing, a horizontally disposed shaft transversely journaled in each housing, said horizontally disposed shafts being in axial alignment with one another and terminating closely adjacent one another at their inner ends, said horizontally disposed shafts constituting the power input for rotatably driving each of said vertically disposed shafts, a planetary gearing disposed. in each of said housings, a sun gear mounted on each of said shafts and driven by said respective shafts, planet gears in meshing engagement with each of said sun gears, planet gear carriers for each of said planetary gearings, common reactance means for each of said planet gear carriers, a ring gear in meshing engagement with each of said planet gears, a vertically disposed bevel gear joined to each of said ring gears, said vertically disposed bevel gears in mesh with the horizontally disposed bevel gears in their respective housings, whereby when the common reactance means is sufliciently great said vertically disposed shafts will be rotatably driven.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 in which said common reactance means includes a stationary support, a single winch having its opposing sides fastened to each of said planet gear carriers, and a cable joined to said stationary support at its upper end and to the single winch at its lower end whereby the entire mechanism is suspended from said stationary support by said cable whereupon the reactance is determined by the weight of the mechanism and when the resistance to rotation of the vertically disposed shafts becomes greater than the reactance the winch will wind up on the cable carrying with it the entire mechanism.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6 in which said stationary support includes a drum, a spring motor normally urging rotation of said drum, and the upper end of said cable joined to said drum whereby the spring motor maintains the cable taut at all times.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 505,396 Esmond Sept. 19, 1893 

